Bake-stable creamy food filling base

Abstract

Lipid-based, creamy food fillings are disclosed that are bake-stable up to a temperature of at least about 125° C. The creamy food fillings are particularly suitable for use in products that require the filling to be added prior to baking. In one aspect, the fillings are a solid-in-liquid dispersion having a dispersed solid phase including a hydrophilic powder and a high-melting lipid, as well as a continuous lipid phase including a low-melting lipid in which the hydrophilic powder and high-melting lipid are dispersed. Preferably, the fillings have a low water activity of about 0.5 or lower and are formed in the absence of additional humectants, thickening agents, or gelling agents.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A lipid-based, creamy food filling that is bake-stable, the creamy food filling comprising:
 a continuous lipid phase including a low-melting lipid having a melting point of about 40° C. or lower; 
 a solid phase dispersed in the continuous lipid phase and including a hydrophilic powder and a high-melting lipid with a melting point of at least about 70° C.; 
 a water activity of about 0.5 or lower; and 
 a bi-modal particle size distribution of the hydrophilic powder and the high-melting lipid including one mode of a dust particle portion having a sub-distribution of dust particles less than 4 microns and another mode including a creamy particle portion having a sub-distribution of creamy particles greater than 4 microns, the bi-modal particle size distribution of the creamy food filling rendering the creamy food filling bake stable as evidenced by substantially no spreading of the filling and substantially no oil bleeding of the filling upon a sample of the creamy food filling heated for about 10 minutes at about 150° C. 
 
     
     
       2. The creamy food filling of  claim 1 , wherein the creamy food filling includes between about 30 and about 70 percent by weight of the hydrophilic powder, about 0.5 to about 8 percent by weight of the high-melting lipid, and between about 30 and about 70 percent by weight of the low-melting lipid. 
     
     
       3. The creamy food filling of  claim 1 , wherein the bi-modal particle size distribution includes at least about 90 percent by volume of the particles less than about 30 microns and at least about 10 percent by volume of the particles less than about 4 microns. 
     
     
       4. The creamy food filling of  claim 1 , wherein the dust particle portion includes sub-micron dust particles of about 1 micron or less. 
     
     
       5. The creamy food filling of  claim 4 , wherein the dust particle portion includes at least about 0.1 percent by volume of the sub-micron dust particles. 
     
     
       6. The creamy food filling of  claim 5 , wherein the sub-micron dust particles include the high-melting lipid. 
     
     
       7. The creamy food filling of  claim 4 , wherein a ratio of the dust particle portion to the creamy particle portion is at least about 0.1 by volume. 
     
     
       8. The creamy food filling of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the solid phase to the continuous lipid phase is about 2.3 or less by weight. 
     
     
       9. The creamy food filling of  claim 1 , wherein the high-melting lipid includes calcium stearate, and/or wherein the hydrophilic powder includes a cheese powder.